IFIP – The International Federation for Information Processing
IFIP was founded in 1960 under the auspi ces of UNESCO, following the first World
Computer Congress held in Paris the previous year. A federation for societies working
in information processing, IFIP’s aim is two-fold: to support information processing in
the countries of its members and to encourage technology transfer to developing na-
tions. As its mission statement clearly states:
IFIP is the global non-profit federation of societies of ICT professionals that aims
at achieving a worldwide professional and socially responsible development and
application of information and communication technologies.
IFIP is a non-profit-making organization, run almost solely by 2500 volunteers. It
operates through a number of technical committees and working groups, which organize
events and publications. IFIP’s events range from large international open conferences
to working conferences and local seminars.
The flagship event is the IFIP World Computer Congre ss, at which both invited and
contributed papers are presented . Contributed papers are rigorously refereed and the
rejection rate is high.
As with the Congress, participation in the open conferen ces is open to all and papers
may be invited or submitted. Again, submitted papers are stringently refereed.
The working conferences are structured differently. They are usually run by a work-
ing group and attendance is generally smaller and occasionally by invitation only. Their
purpose is to create an atmosphere conducive to innovation and development. Referee-
ing is also rigorous and papers are subjected to extensive group discussion.
Publications arising from IFIP events vary. The papers presented at the IFIP World
Computer Congress and at open conferences are published as conference proceedings,
while the results of the working conferences are often published as collections of se-
lected and edited papers.
IFIP distinguishes three types of institutional membership: Country Representative
Members, Members at Large, and Associate Members. The type of organization that
can apply for membership is a wide variety and includes national or international so-
cieties of individual computer scientists/ICT professionals, associations or federations
of such societies, government institutions/govern ment related organization s, national or
international research institutes or consortia, universities, academies of sciences, com-
panies, national or international associations or federations of companies.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/6102